Berlin Police Stop 1,388 At Checkpoint; 20 Arrested

BERLIN — — More than 1,300 vehicles were inspected in the latest checkpoint the town police often run to find intoxicated drivers and get them off the road.

A report by police of the May 10 checkpoint on the Berlin Turnpike south of Deming Road said officers stopped and briefly checked 1,338 vehicles that passed through the site. Officers flagged 21 drivers for further interviews because they either were suspected of being intoxicated or had some other issue, such as an expired registration.

Twenty people were arrested during the checkpoint, which began at 6 p.m. and ended at midnight. None of the people arrested was charged with driving while intoxicated, although two drivers were found to have been drinking prior to getting behind the wheel, Deputy Chief John Klett said Monday.

"The two people we pulled over for testing were not over the legal limit. So no DUI arrests were made, as there was no probable cause. The drivers tested got other people to drive the car," Klett said. "The goal is to make roads safe."

The whole point of the checkpoints — conducted about once a month by Berlin police with help from officers in neighboring departments — is to detect intoxicated drivers and get them off the roads, Klett said. However, at most checkpoints, officers find alleged violations with registration, licensing and other motor vehicle laws and so charge people with breaking those laws.

"We average about 15 to 25 arrests each time we have a checkpoint," Klett said. "This one was average."

Of the 20 people arrested, charges included driving vehicles without insurance, driving while license is suspended, possession of drugs, driving without a license, failure to renew registration, failure to have a child in a proper restraint system and misuse of marker plates.

Six of those arrested were charged with operating unregistered motor vehicles, police said. During the checkpoint, police had 12 vehicles towed because the operators either had no valid license or lacked insurance or registration, making it illegal to drive the vehicle.